Former Edward Jones Advisor Prevails in TRO Dispute After Joining Ameriprise
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at ÍøÆسԹÏ
A federal judge has denied Edward Jones’ request to restrict an Illinois-based advisor from contacting his former clients after departing for Ameriprise.
Judge Sara Darrow in U.S. District Court in the Central District of Illinois determined that Jones failed to prove that the advisor, Corey Clem, had misappropriated customer contact information to solicit his former clients. Judge Darrow also appeared to favor Clem’s argument that the public’s interest in knowing where one’s advisor had moved outweighed the potential harm to the firm, according to sources familiar with the matter. Clem’s victory comes notwithstanding Edward Jones’ evidence, which included photographic evidence of Clem downloading client contact information onto a personal computer before departing for Ameriprise. Clem managed nearly $350 million in assets and generated at least $1 million in annual revenue.
Edward Jones primarily based its argument on photographs provided by Preston Gray, a junior advisor whom Clem allegedly was attempting to convince to join him at Ameriprise. Grey captured three photographs indicating that Clem had downloaded information on 321 clients into a cloud-based software called TransitionSafe. After Edward Jones learned of Clem’s plans, the firm sent its director of compliance, Brian Harris, to investigate Clem. When Clem was confronted with the photographs, Clem preceded to put a laptop and a ream of paper in his car, according to Harris. Clem was terminated that same day, according to the complaint. In court, Clem argued that he had not accessed the TransitionSafe account since departing the firm, and that he built a new client list at Ameriprise merely using publicly available information to contact his former clients to announce his move.
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